Ultra #10 Glenmore 24
24 hours to run as many laps as you can of a 4 mile route at Glenmore along the bank of Loch Morlich & then if you have any time (or energy) left as many laps of a shorter loop around the hayfield to the cheers of the amazing support crews, family, friends & race crew with music blaring!
Wow, what can I say, what a weekend & what a race! I managed to finish the race having clocked up 103.20 miles, which got me 2nd in my age category, 7th female & 17th overall (out of 107).
I can genuinely say I loved almost every minute, the first 40 miles absolutely flew by with the help of Amanda, who I started chatting to in the first lap & that was us for the next 10! We were counting laps rather than miles & neither of us could believe that each lap genuinely felt like a mile.
It got tougher after midnight when the 12 hour race finished & the temperature dropped to -5’c, especially when my phone wouldn’t charge because of the cold which meant no music.
I was pretty impressed I managed to keep my over active imagination in check while running alone in the darkness, even with the appearance of the grim reaper on a few laps (knowing it was Donald under the mask certainly made it less scary & I definitely owe him a beer for not actually jumping out on me 🙈)
The last 5 laps were a struggle, mentally & physically but I knew I need to get them done to get the horn & hit 100 miles. Another amazingly supportive runner Chris (I think she said that was her name but I was pretty tired by then) took me under her wing & gently pushed me along for 3 of the last 5 laps. She’d had a 6 hour sleep due to a niggle in her knee & surprisingly couldn’t see the same things I kept stopping to look at – like the 3 wild cats at the base of the tree on the Loch side 😂 After lap 24 I was ready to stop & take my chances to hit 100 on the small loops but my support team were having none of it & I was told in no uncertain terms that I was doing it & there was no way I would fail to do one loop in 1hr 45 mins (I did it in 56 minutes).
I couldn’t have done any of it without the fantastic support of Hannah, Ross & Sam who despite the horrific conditions were there at the end of every lap to check I had enough food, water, clothes & had been to the toilet! Thank you guys, you are AMAZING 💖 And obviously I have to thank Paul for his tireless support of my crazy hobby, it was brilliant to see him & the girls at the end of my 25th lap & I certainly needed him to help me get in the car at the end as I couldn’t lift my left leg!
All in all it was a great run, the nutrition worked, I paced it well & I had fantastic support. I did say yesterday I didn’t need to do it again, having hit the 100 but now having realised I was 1.6 miles away from completing 4 marathons in 24 hours I might need to give it another bash. Next year however I will be putting my name in the ballot for the West Highland Way race!
P.S if you made it to the bottom – sorry I didn’t expect it to be that long.
Kim Kenny
Harmeny AC member